When is our final concert?

One random final project idea I came up with was building a laser harp- basically a series of parallel laser beams incident on photosensetive detectors, and sufficient digital logic to communicate to the computer what beams are blocked when.  Running this into a pd patch would allow loading up any number of samples to be controlled by each beam, potentially resulting in some pretty awesome music.

The end result would be styled after something like this.

I've been taking a circuits class this semester, and have pretty much figured out the components required to wire up the detectors, which could hopefully be run off of cheap little red laser pointers (~$1 apiece). 

The real difficulty would probably be in communicating digital circuit voltages to the computer, which would likely require programming a customized microcontroller, or physically (maliciously?) messing with the circuits and switches inside of an instrument that already has MIDI outputs (ripping apart and modifying an old keyboard, for example).

Anyone interested in trying to build such a beast?

Here's the link to the information and videos I showed this afternoon in lecture.  Note the software section.  It should soon contain patches and other code to make this run.

http://www.popmodernism.org/scrambledhackz

One of you recently pointed out that arrays have a size limitation (necessary for memory saving), so for large soundfiles, it is recommended that you read them directly from disk.  The object we looked at for this is [readsf~].  Note that you must specify the number of channels within the object, such as [readsf~ 2] for a stereo file.  Also, unlike [tabplay~] or other array/table readers, the filename must be reset before each play.  In the attached patch I am playing 2 soundfiles simultaneously, also reloading the same file automatically once it is done playing. 

Enjoy!

Following up on this afternoon, I ended up creating two patches to help Matt Rung with his loop idea.  I thought they might be useful generally, so they are attached here.  This is still using the "openpanel" method of loading opening for convenience, but there are many other ways.  I have the gamelan sample patch I mentioned today around here somewhere (my home machine).  If I can find it, I'll post it for your perusal.

UPDATE: You will find the gamelan patch attached below as well (it is a zip archive since I included the soundfiles, all from sflib).  Unpack the folder, and open "auto_trigger.pd".  Hit GO and listen to my pattern!  I think this turned out pretty well given how trivial is it.  The coolest part happens right when you open the patch, auto-loading all of the files into the arrays with a line (could also have been a counter)!!

BONUS: I included a second subfolder of samples within the gamelan folder, african percussion samples to try in place of the gamelan sounds.  Just place them in the main directory (overwriting the gamelan samples) and listen again, whah-la, new samples, new riff.

I basically mapped the main variables to some large enough sliders. Changing the max/min values of the sliders continues to make different and interesting sounds, so that is always going to change. I also added a bunch of mini kill bangs because some sliders don't have Zero as their min. The Master Mute button works rather nicely too! And now, to the concert piece! *runs away*

Attached you will find the core patch for Thursday's session as well as the basis for your assignment, to build an interface both physically and graphically.  The goal is to produce something which gives you maximum meaningful control over the sounds.  In the case of the attached patch, you have a phase modulation system which feeds into a voltage controlled filter, not unlike the arrangement you have in the Subtractor in Reason.  You should be able to create assignments to the Kontrol49 or to other input such as the MIDI keyboard, text keyboard, or even a sound input (microphone or soundfile or web stream, through JACK, etc).  Try to build something that feels like a performance instrument, something with some degree of responsiveness and nuance.

This past week I had the opportunity to visit IRCAM, Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique, in Paris, France and was so excited by the facilities that I wanted to ask you: What does your dream studio look like? Now that you are more seasoned electro-musicians, I want to hear your ideas about the future of electronic music and what sorts of places or equipment inspire you. Be sure to take a few spare/borrowed moments to check out this institute if you haven't done so already.

Enjoy!

Your Ex-TA,

Spencer

I'll be testing this too but wanted others to have a look now that I have found it.  JACK for windows (including the preferred GUI...better than the OSX version) seems to be online, compiled and ready to use:

http://www.grame.fr/~letz/jackdmp.html

This version seems to have some significant improvements on OSX as well.  I'll be testing with a potential "upgrade" in mind.

I did some cleaning up in B25B, C & D today. There are now folders on the snd drives where we expect you to put your work. Within a music 220 folder, you will find a folder labeled with your Net ID. PLEASE PUT ALL YOUR WORK IN THERE FROM NOW ON.

I've moved work that clearly belonged to you into your folder.

There is also one folder on the desktop in each room that contains files that lacked indication of authorship, so if you're missing something, look there. Otherwise, use Spotlight (in the upper right hand corner of the screen) to locate missing files.

Please note that each snd drive is a separate drive. If you add or change or delete something from snd in B25B, it will have absolutely no effect on the snd drive in B25C or B25D. It's up to you to keep things clear.

When you save something new, be sure it's going into your folder on the snd drive. If by mistake you put it on the desktop instead, drag it into your folder on the snd drive. Note that since this is copying the file, please delete the one on the desktop once you are sure the file has copied to your folder. As you can see, it's best to create it on the snd drive in the first place. Fewer steps.

Tip: For new assignments and projects, it's always best to create a clearly labeled subfolder for it first, so every file associated with that project stays together.

Good luck with your work!

Eric